Oregon with my love!

Bryant and I started planning a trip to Oregon after he received a phone call from one of the members he converted while on his mission (in Oregon). In the call, he learned that Patrick had put in his papers and was going on a mission! Bryant was sooo excited and told me all about this family and how they were so ready to receive the gospel and that they taught him so much.
Over the 24th of July weekend, we drove up through Idaho up to Oregon and slept in Ontario for the night then headed to Bend where we visited with some of the members from one of his areas. This was my first time in Oregon and the whole state seemed like a giant forest! It was so pretty and smelled like pine :). After we visited a few people, we drove out to some lava tunnels in the area to explore. The tunnel started out as a giant underground cave and the farther back we went, the more narrow it became. We ended up squeezing through tiny tunnels in the dirt. It was AWESOME! After the tunnels, we shopped around in Bend for a bit then headed off to Eugene on the McKenzie River Highway. This is when I decided that I would one day live on that highway ;). I couldn't believe how beautiful it was! Tall trees, winding roads, river and waterfalls...I couldn't get enough!

In Eugene, we stayed with Patrick's family, the Gollmann's. They are such AMAZING people and so strong in the gospel! We also went to the Saturday's Market which was probably the ultimate hippy gathering I've ever seen! I loved it LOL! (I'm such a people watcher). It's a lot like the Farmers Market in Salt Lake City. We were lucky enough not to see any nude people though, which we were warned about haha! After the market, we were off to the wildlife safari down near Roseburg, Oregon. It's a large drive-through safari but it was so hot that a lot of the animals were away from the road, in the shade. It was still fun though. :)

After we left Eugene, we headed off to the BEACH! First stop: Florence. We were too excited to continue north that we had to get out and play on the beach ASAP. *Tip: Don't shave your legs the day you go to the beach. Salt + razor burn = ULTMATE PAIN!* We ended up heading to Yachats to the Haceta Head Lighthouse. This lighthouse is amazing! It's a beautuful sight heading down the trail as well, looking out to the beach :). I love that I got to share it with my love! After the lighthouse, we drove further north to Newport for the night. The next morning, we went to another lighthouse called Yaquina Head Lighthouse. This one was my favorite! Not because "The Ring" was filmed there (which I later found out), but because it was soooo spectacular! We took a tour and found out that it's the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. They let us go all the way to the top where the light shines through and the view was incredible! It was just Bryant and I in the top. It was pretty romantic up there looking out of the massive window that surrounded us, seeing the ocean splash up against the rocky shores ;). I didn't want to leave...but unfortunately we had to. From there, we took a path down to the tide pools and muscle beds. Bryant found a starfish out of the tide and decided it was his duty to save it so he picked it up and set it back out in the ocean. He's so cute LOL. After the lighthouse, we went to a surfshop and got fitted in wetsuits, took a surf board and headed to a sandy beach for some surfing. It was soooo windy that it was hard for Bryant to carry the board. He has been surfing several times but this was my first. I'm not gonna lie, the waves were intimidating! Bryant would argue and say there weren't any waves though haha. He went a few times then it was my turn. I stayed on the board (lying down) the first time and rode the wave. The second time, I couldn't quite get up on my feet so I stayed kneeling. I didn't flip it though :). I let Bryant go some more and decided it was too windy for me. he agreed after some more struggling so we eventually turned in the gear. Next up, we went to the Newprot Aquarium. We spent a few hours there. It was fun to see the sea otters and sharks and all that good stuff :). After the Aquarium, we were off to a city just outside of Portland called Troutdale where we stayed for the night.

It was sad to wake up in Troutdale because it meant it was the day we head back to Utah. We had about an 11.5 hour drive ahead of us (not including all the stops we would make). We took the old Columbia River Gorge Highway which is the scenic route. Might as well make the drive worth it, right? There are several waterfalls on this drive, some of which we had to hike to. I can't really pick a favorite out of all the waterfalls because they each had their own unique traits that made each on sooo gorgeous. I did love the stone bridges near 2 of the waterfalls though. They reminded me of something out of an old movie or old pictures because they were old stone bridges covered in moss. I loved it!

The scenic highway took us about 1.5 to 2 hours then the rest of the drive was dead and boring. I cut off a few hours with my "lead foot" while I was driving but Bryant drove the majority of the trip. It's kinda funny though because i was speeding and so anxious to get home when I was driving, but he kept a steady average pace, and he's the one that got pulled over. He's a cop magnet! Poor guy :P

And thats the trip in a nut shell. Seriously. I can't wait to go back again! :)

Mount Olympus

On Saturday, July 18th Bryant and I wanted to hike Mount Olympus. I hiked this hike last year with my buddy Dan and it seriously kicked my butt! It was the beginning of getting in shape for all the other adventures I did last year :). So, I wanted to hike it again this year but I did a little better. We made sure we had our camel paks full of water and snacks and got to the trailhead around 7 on Saturday morning. This hike is a 3 mile hike with a 4200 ft ascent. It's like climbing stairs for 3 hours but coming back down isn't any better either. You really start to feel it in the knees. *Tip: DO NOT climb a steep mountain on the hottest day of the year!* Yeah. We did. It wasn't too hot going up because we were in the shadow of the mountain the whole way up. But coming back down...ugh! I took 3 liters of water in my camel pak and Bryant had 2, which he ran out of by the time he got to the top. It's a really pretty view from the top of the whole Salt Lake Valley :). We signed the little log in the mailbox at the top and rested while we had some snacks before we headed back down the steep trail. We met a couple that had the biggest black great dane I've ever seen! It was extremely nice too! (Ever since that dog, Bryant wants one...). About halfway down the trail, we met up with them again and the dog was panting uncontrolably because it had no water and it was pretty hot by this time. I ended up giving some of my water to the dog and also to Bryant. Then ran out. We still had quite a ways to go before we got to the car and it was already over 100 degrees. I have never experienced heat stroke before but I think I was beginning to by the time we got to the bottom. I was starting to get slightly dizzy and I kept getting the chills really bad. Weird. But we finally made it to the car and stopped at a gas station for some water. That hike is exhausting so if anyone ever plans on doing it, go super early and preferably on a cooler day :).

BBQ weekends with the family

My family has had a few BBQ this summer where everyone can actually find some time to get together. I love these days! I've been introducing Bryant to members of my family when I get the chance to see them and this was a perfect opportunity for that :). I love my family and I love spending time with them. Enjoy some pics :).